Accused tricked victims into parting with their valuables.

This gang of snake charmers — who also claim to be sadhus blessed by Lord Shiva — would promise gullible people solutions for every problem in their lives. On the pretext of blessing them, they would trick them into giving them all their valuables.

The snake charmers would first identify their target and “brainwash” them, police said. They would then ask the person to remove all metal objects he or she was wearing, including gold jewellery, wrist watches, rings etc., fold it in a piece of cloth and keep it inside the box in which they kept their snakes.

“They would ask the victim to close their eyes and remember Lord Shiva. After chanting a few mantras, they would ask the person to go 100 metres away from them with their eyes closed. They would tell the victims that the trick would bring them good luck. After the victim stepped 100 metres away, the snake charmers would pack their stuff and flee. They robbed several people using the same modus operandi,” a senior police officer said.

All the three accused, Aslam (35), Hasmuddin (37) and Sherun (27), were arrested after the police received a tip-off. “In order to prevent incidents of robberies, a team was formed to develop information about criminals involved in such activities using the modus operendi. The team tapped their sources and verified details of various recently released criminals. Following the input, a trap was laid and accused Sherun was arrested,” a senior police officer said.

“We recovered a mobile phone from his possession. During questioning, Sherun confessed to have committed several robberies along with his associates Hasmuddin and Aslam,” the officer said.

Police have registered a case and are now trying to ascertain the involvement of the accused in past cases. An investigation is on, police said.